We used to have an intern here who came from one of Ohio's more rural counties. He grew up eating raccoon but said that after being away from it for a while in college, he couldn't handle the taste anymore.

"Raccoon meat is some of the healthiest meat you can eat," says Jeff Beringer, a furbearer resource biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"During grad school, my roommate and I ate 32 coons one winter. It was all free, and it was really good. If you think about being green and eating organically, raccoon meat is the ultimate organic food," with no steroids, no antibiotics, no growth hormones."

Of course, they never had a date in grad school, but oh well, the racoons tasted good.

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Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:""She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

Sunil: "If you think about being green and eating organically, raccoon meat is the ultimate organic food," with no steroids, no antibiotics, no growth hormones."

Unless they have been eating out of trash cans. Then they have hormones (old birth control pills) , Antibiotics (unfinished prescriptions), Chemicals (paint, cleaning products etc....). Of course those are the raccoons living in the city. I bet you people living in the country have hormone free raccoons. City Raccoons are about the same as sewer rats.

To greasy. Tried it and Possum. No thanks, then again we didn't go through all those steps. Maybe it makes a difference. I did trap them for their furs in high school (and use the carcass to lure coyotes for their pelts).

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Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish. Mark Twain

Parents, watch your children!Donít let them put dirt or other objects in theirmouths when playing at the park.Keep their hands clean.Do a visual check of the area where your childis playing to make sure no animal feces ("poop")can be found nearby.A parasite commonly known as Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascarisprocyonis) lives in the digestive tract of raccoons. The microscopic eggsof the parasite are shed in their feces, and a single defecation may carry alarge number of eggs. The eggs must mature to an infective state (2-4weeks) before they can cause illness. Young children and toddlersmay be more likely than adults to ingest the eggs due to theirbehavior of putting dirt and other objects in their mouths.A very small number of Raccoon Roundworm infections in humans havebeen reported, despite the large number of raccoons living in closeassociation with humans. This suggests that the risk of infection is rareand remote. Nevertheless, parents should be informed about the potentialfor infection and the need for proper precautions.Do not touch raccoon feces.Stay away from area and materials that might be contaminated byraccoon feces. Raccoons typically defecate at the base of or in raisedforks of trees, or on raised horizontal surfaces such as fallen logs, stumps,or large rocks. Raccoon feces also can be found on woodpiles, decks,rooftops, and in attics, garages, and haylofts.Feces usually are dark and tubular, have a pungent odor (usually worse thandog or cat feces), and often contain undigested seeds or other food items.Do not keep, feed, or adopt raccoons as pets! Raccoons are wild animals.Discourage raccoons from living in and around your home or parks byremoving access to food. Clear brush so raccoons are not likely to make aden on your property. To eliminate eggs, raccoon feces and materialcontaminated with raccoon feces should be removed carefully and sent toa landfill. Care should be taken to avoid contaminating hands and clothes.Prompt removal and destruction of raccoon feces will reduce risk forexposure and possible infection. Newly deposited eggs take at least 2-4weeks to become infective.Santa Barbara County Public Health Dept.http://www.sbcphd.

To eliminate eggs, raccoon feces and materialcontaminated with raccoon feces should be removed carefully and sent to a landfill.

Great. When my subdivision neighbors find out about this, I'll be expected to gather all the raccoon feces on my farm and send them to the landfill, after I finish raking all the leaves from 12 acres of woods and a mile and a half of fencerows.

Never eaten raccoon, but I make a mean pot of squirrel gumbo. I was offered it once along with possum and armadillo when I picked up a motorcycle at a friends family homestead. They were the kind of people that stop and pick up the critters they run over, free dinner!

Never eaten coon, but I would. That said I rate it right there with possum. They eat pretty much the same things. When I ran a trap line my dry land sets would always be baited with rotten stinking meat. I had a pet coon as a kid. Maybe coon worms has been my problem all these years?

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Pond Boss Subscriber & Books Owner

If you can read this ... thank a teacher. Since it's in english ... thank our military!Ric

If one is hungry enough you'd be surprised what you would eat. I know a guy that says we'll be eating boot soup in a year or two. I rib him and tell him I'm going to start a franchise of restaurants called The Boot Soup Gourmet then.

Oh Jeeze I hope that wasn't political and someone is going to PM Bob and complain again!

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If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.

I have eaten possum, rattlesnake, armadillo, squirrel brains, but no raccoon, at least that I know of. Yum Yum it all taste like chicken. My grandmother used to make us chicken foot soup. It was a recipe left over from the great depression. Funny thing it didn't taste like chicken. I think or hope she removed the skin and toe nails.

And another thing, Squirrel Brains???? What did you do with the rest of the squirrel??? And besides that, as small as a squirrel's brain must be, how many squirrel do you have to remove the brains of to feed a family of four?

_________________________JHAP~~~~~~~~~~"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)

I have eaten possum, rattlesnake, armadillo, squirrel brains, but no raccoon, at least that I know of. Yum Yum it all taste like chicken. My grandmother used to make us chicken foot soup. It was a recipe left over from the great depression. Funny thing it didn't taste like chicken. I think or hope she removed the skin and toe nails.

Heybud,

I had squirrel brains also. My grandfather used to save them up and scramble them with his eggs! He didn't tell what was for breakfast (by that time I had learned not to ask). One bite and I decided to snatch some apples of the tree that day instead.

Then again this is the same man that got me to try raw indian turnip. My tongue was sore for days. Gramps had a strange sense of humor.

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Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish. Mark Twain

Sunil: "If you think about being green and eating organically, raccoon meat is the ultimate organic food," with no steroids, no antibiotics, no growth hormones."

Unless they have been eating out of trash cans. Then they have hormones (old birth control pills) , Antibiotics (unfinished prescriptions), Chemicals (paint, cleaning products etc....). Of course those are the raccoons living in the city. I bet you people living in the country have hormone free raccoons. City Raccoons are about the same as sewer rats.

Brett,

We have free range racoons in the country, thats why they are better for you.

Parents, watch your children!Donít let them put dirt or other objects in theirmouths when playing at the park.Keep their hands clean.Do a visual check of the area where your childis playing to make sure no animal feces ("poop")can be found nearby.A parasite commonly known as Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascarisprocyonis) lives in the digestive tract of raccoons. The microscopic eggsof the parasite are shed in their feces, and a single defecation may carry alarge number of eggs. The eggs must mature to an infective state (2-4weeks) before they can cause illness. Young children and toddlersmay be more likely than adults to ingest the eggs due to theirbehavior of putting dirt and other objects in their mouths.A very small number of Raccoon Roundworm infections in humans havebeen reported, despite the large number of raccoons living in closeassociation with humans. This suggests that the risk of infection is rareand remote. Nevertheless, parents should be informed about the potentialfor infection and the need for proper precautions.Do not touch raccoon feces.Stay away from area and materials that might be contaminated byraccoon feces. Raccoons typically defecate at the base of or in raisedforks of trees, or on raised horizontal surfaces such as fallen logs, stumps,or large rocks. Raccoon feces also can be found on woodpiles, decks,rooftops, and in attics, garages, and haylofts.Feces usually are dark and tubular, have a pungent odor (usually worse thandog or cat feces), and often contain undigested seeds or other food items.Do not keep, feed, or adopt raccoons as pets! Raccoons are wild animals.Discourage raccoons from living in and around your home or parks byremoving access to food. Clear brush so raccoons are not likely to make aden on your property. To eliminate eggs, raccoon feces and materialcontaminated with raccoon feces should be removed carefully and sent toa landfill. Care should be taken to avoid contaminating hands and clothes.Prompt removal and destruction of raccoon feces will reduce risk forexposure and possible infection. Newly deposited eggs take at least 2-4weeks to become infective.Santa Barbara County Public Health Dept.http://www.sbcphd.

While avoid obvious dangers, I have to laugh seeing these "scare-tactic" articles. These irrational fears and the lack of exposure to germs/organisms and fear of playing outdoors are the biggest reasons so many kids are always sick nowadays.

How did we ever live long enough to learn the right way to protect ourselves without car seats, seatbelts, anti-bacterial soap, lead paint and pencils, raccoon poop worms, our dad's belt, or mom's switch, the need to NOT eat over 3 tons of mercury poisened catfish per year, etc, etc, etc??? We've sealed ourselves so tightly in our homes that now the molds and radon gas will get us!!